


Something More

by Finduilas



Series: Something More [1]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-28
Updated: 2011-10-26
Packaged: 2017-11-05 15:36:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/408100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Finduilas/pseuds/Finduilas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>When Danny wakes up in Steve’s bed, he doesn’t have to turn around to know that Steve isn’t there anymore.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Something More

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by m_l_h.

When Danny wakes up in Steve’s bed, he doesn’t have to turn around to know that Steve isn’t there anymore. Sunlight is shining through the window, casting a warm glow on Danny’s face, but waking up in an empty bed always makes him feel a bit cold. He grunts as he turns onto his back, his arm swinging over the cold sheets at the other side of the bed. The sheets are a ruffled and there’s a dent in the pillow as the only evidence that Danny didn’t actually spend the night alone.    
  
Danny strains his ears for any sound coming from downstairs but there’s nothing. He thinks Steve is probably still out on his morning swim or run or whatever the hell it is that serves as a good excuse to be up and out of bed by the time Danny wakes up. But Danny knows that Steve could just be stealthy enough to simply be having breakfast downstairs, without making a sound.    
  
Danny sighs and crawls out of bed, heading straight for the shower. Every night he goes to bed hopeful. Every morning he realizes he’s been stupid. As the hot water washes over him, he can’t help but think this isn’t at all how he pictured it to be. Maybe he was naïve in thinking that his enthusiasm could keep it all together, that his love for Steve would be enough and they’d be happy? When Steve first kissed him and dragged him into his bed, Danny felt everything shifting into place. He never figured Steve could feel miles away, even when they were sleeping in the same bed. He never figured, for all the overflow of feelings he was having, that Steve might not feel the same.    
  
After the shower, Danny goes down to find the kitchen empty. He pours himself a cup of coffee, grabs a bagel off the counter and sits down at the table to flip through the paper that Steve has already brought inside. He’s about to get himself a second cup when Steve walks in with a smile. He’s still a little out of breath and dripping water all over the kitchen floor.    
  
“Morning,” Steve says, ruffling his towel over his wet hair.    
  
“Morning,” Danny answers, sitting back down with his second cup.    
  
Steve picks a small piece off one of the bagels and pops it in his mouth while he’s heading for the stairs.    
  
“Gonna wash the salt off,” he says, “Ready for work in ten minutes?”    
  
“Sure,” Danny says, forcing himself to shoot a smile at Steve, who’s already running up the stairs, two steps at a time.    
  
He lets out a sigh as he hears Steve’s bedroom door close and wonders why the absence of a good morning kiss seems to be killing him right now.    
  
***   
  
Danny finds it funny that, at work, things are as they always were. At work, Steve stares at Danny, he smiles and flirts and he’s always in Danny’s personal space. Sometimes he’ll put a hand on Danny’s shoulder and just linger for an insane amount of time. They bicker like an old married couple, or so they get told all the time. Danny wonders if it’s normal that they act more like a couple at work than in private. He knows not to linger on that too much ‘cause he’s sure he won’t like the answer, so he decides to just enjoy those moments with Steve, where he feels – however briefly – that everything’s the way it’s supposed to be. Because the alternative is leaving Steve, and Danny’s not sure he could actually survive that. Though he’s not entirely sure he’s surviving all that well the way things are now. Maybe he’s not supposed to survive Steve? After all, it’s what he’s always telling Steve when he’s driving cars onto boats or getting Danny shot… Maybe Steve will be his demise after all, just not in the way Danny always thought it would be?    
  
Then Steve’s right there behind him, almost gluing himself to Danny’s back when he walks past him, even though he seems to have miles of free office to do so. Steve’s hand is on Danny’s shoulder as he passes, and when Danny looks at Steve, Steve smiles with that… that  _face_  of him, and Danny feels like he’s falling in love all over again. He can’t help but return the smile and Danny wants to hate Steve for it a little bit.    
  
Then Kono is talking about their case and Danny does his best to turn his attention to the screens again. Steve positions himself to Danny’s right side, his shoulder slightly bumping into him as Kono says, “She got a note again today” and Chin projects said note onto the screen with a swift flick of his wrist.    
  
“Sick bastard,” Danny mutters as he reads the note. They’re currently working on a stalker-case. Not exactly the thing they usually do, but the victim is a diplomat’s daughter and they quickly discovered that the diplomat is an old friend of the Governor. Steve wanted to protest at first, ‘cause he doesn’t like being used for personal favors, but then the team got hold of the notes and photographs and gifts the stalker leaves and personal favor or not, they all agreed this guy needed to be stopped.    
  
At this point, they don’t have many leads and it’s mostly intel-gathering. Analysing every single object the stalker left, over and over again. Digging into the victim’s – Gabby Hernandez, ‘cause Danny feels it his duty to not see her as a nameless, faceless victim – background, no matter how wrong it seems.   
  
A few hours later, Steve and Danny are on their way to question an ex-boyfriend of Hernandez.    
  
“It’s never gonna be him,” Danny says, looking over at Steve, “Too easy.”    
  
“I know,” Steve answers, “But I hate to say it… we don’t have much to go on.”    
  
“I don’t get what drives a person to do these kinds of things,” Danny reflects, elbow leaning on the side of the door as his fingers shield his eyes from the sun.    
  
“Sending freaky pictures and disturbing notes and shit?” Steve asks, stealing a quick glance. “This guy is sick, Danno. There’s nothing to get. Some people are just messed up in the head.”    
  
“You don’t think certain situations could’ve driven him to it?” Danny asks, “You think he was always meant to turn out this way?”    
  
But Steve just shakes his head and says, “There’s too many people using excuses. Like a crappy childhood and a broken heart driving you insane. I don’t buy it. We’re all responsible for what we do.”    
  
“Isn’t that a bit simplistic?” Danny frowns.    
  
“Maybe,” Steve admits as he shrugs, “I’m just saying, I’ve never felt the need to cling onto something that isn’t there and go all psycho.”    
  
Danny tries to hide the way his body winces at Steve’s words. He’s pretty sure Steve didn’t mean anything by it, but Danny can’t help but wonder.    
  
“We’re here,” Steve says, all smiles again as he taps Danny on the knee.   
  
“Yeah,” Danny says as he gets out of the car, then turning to Steve over the roof of the car, “Hey, we don’t have anything on him, alright? So no waterboarding or rooftop-dangling, you hear me.”    
  
“Aww Danno, you know me better than that,” Steve winks at him as he slams the door of the car shut, “I wouldn’t dare.”    
  
Danny just snorts and follows his partner as he walks up to the house.    
  
***   
  
“I need fresh clothes,” Danny tells Steve as they climb into the Camaro at the end of the day, “Can we stop by my place first?”    
  
“Sure,” Steve says, heading out of the parking space.    
  
“If we hang out at yours this weekend, I’ll need to grab some of Grace’s too,” Danny states, but makes it sound more like a question.    
  
“Yeah, alright,” Steve simply says.    
  
Danny thinks that it’s worth at least something that Steve never seems to complain about having him or Grace at his place. He never actually specifically invites them – Danny takes notice of these things – but his daughter feels at home at Steve’s and that counts for something. And maybe Danny’s being over-sensitive because he’s over at Steve’s a lot and Steve never makes Danny feel like he’s in the way. Sure, he’s not handing out engraved invitations, but Danny thinks maybe he needs to man up and get over it. Steve goes about his own way when Danny is there, never asks him to bring more than a handful of clothes, never suggests that Danny’s stuff may deserve a space in the house. But he never asks him to go, or makes him feel like an intruder either. How the two things can co-exist, Danny’s not sure, but leave it to Steve to find a way.    
  
Steve follows Danny into the apartment where Danny plans to get a fresh shirt and some underwear. He’s pretty sure he still has a clean pair of pants over at Steve’s.    
  
His thoughts are interrupted as Steve slips his arms around Danny’s waist, plastering his body against Danny’s back.    
  
“Danny…” Steve whispers and Danny can feel Steve’s hot breath tickling the skin of his neck.    
  
Danny doesn’t have to ask what Steve wants to say next, the evidence pretty obvious as it presses up against the small of his back.    
  
Danny nods as he twists around in Steve’s embrace.    
  
“How are you always horny?” Danny mutters before catching Steve in a hungry kiss.    
  
Steve’s already manoeuvring them towards the – luckily already folded out – couch bed. He puts his hands on Danny’s hips, pulling him flush against his own body.    
  
“Pot. Kettle,” Steve chuckles, burying his nose in the crook of Danny’s neck as he starts to nibble and suck on the exposed skin there.    
  
Danny lets himself be pushed onto the bed, clothes flying off in minimum time. Steve’s already fumbling to reach for the bedside table where he knows there are condoms and lube.    
  
“Roll over,” Steve breathes heavily, and Danny can feel his entire body heat up at the sound of his voice.    
  
Danny shakes his head and counters, “Like this”.    
  
Steve doesn’t argue. Danny pulls him down into a searing kiss, not wanting to break contact with Steve, ever. Steve’s quick but thorough with preparations and in no time he’s pushing into Danny, hitting home. Danny’s fingers are digging into Steve’s shoulders as Steve quickens the pace, eyes squeezed shut and panting heavily.   
  
“Steve,” Danny moans, hooking his legs around Steve’s body as every thrust from Steve builds up the fire inside of him.    
  
Steve groans and reaches down between them, wrapping his fingers around Danny’s hard cock and stroking eagerly. Danny tilts his head up, pressing open-mouthed kisses onto Steve’s lips. Steve’s hips twitch and he changes his angle slightly as he pushes into Danny, and Danny can tell neither of them is going to last much longer. He looks up at Steve, taking in the features of his face. Steve bites his lip and strangles a cry, eyes still squeezed shut. Danny gasps as Steve’s wrist flicks on the upstroke. His eyes search out Steve’s as he knows he’s close to his release, but Steve lets his head fall down on Danny’s shoulder, face buried against Danny’s kin as he gives a few last hard thrusts, tipping them both over the edge.    
  
Steve collapses on top of Danny, both trying to catch their breath. Danny’s still got his arms wrapped around Steve’s frame, enjoying the feel of skin on skin as his brain slowly starts up again.    
  
“What had you all hot and bothered?” Danny smiles, and he knows Steve will start pulling away any second now, no matter how long Danny feels he can lay here like this.    
  
“The couch was folded out,” Steve grins into Danny’s skin, “’s nice and handy.”    
  
Danny groans as he says, “Seriously? You see a couch folded out as a bed and your brain goes ‘hey, sex!’?”    
  
Steve chuckles and he starts shifting, rolling onto his back before bouncing off the bed, way too quick and energetic for Danny’s taste.    
  
“My brain always screams ‘hey, sex!’,” he smirks as he reaches down to remove the condom and head towards the bathroom.    
  
“Don’t I know it,” Danny says instead of asking Steve to please crawl back into bed with him for another few minutes.    
  
“You never complain!” Steve calls out from the bathroom.    
  
Danny hears the flush of the toilet and says, “Please tell me you didn’t flush down the condom again? I don’t need you clogging up my pipes!”   
  
Steve has a way too silly grin on his face as he reappears, throwing a towel at Danny. “Relax, will you? I just had to take a leak. The condom is in the bin, where Gracie will no doubt spot it next time she’s here.”   
  
“You think I don’t check these things before she comes over?” Danny asks as he wipes his stomach clean with the towel Steve gave him, “You think I feel the need to explain where that condom has been?”    
  
Steve just laughs, already putting on his clothes from where he finds them on the floor. Danny closes his eyes for a second before pushing himself off the bed and heading for the bathroom.    
  
“You check these things at my place too, before she comes over?” Steve frowns, buttoning up his pants.    
  
“Babe, your house needs kid-proofing more than freaking HQ,” Danny deadpans.    
  
“Oh,” Steve says, then, “Is that why I can never find any condoms or lube downstairs when she’s over?”    
  
“You think?” Danny asks, getting dressed again and searching his closet for fresh clothes before grabbing some of Grace’s too.    
  
“And my guns…?” Steve asks, but Danny just responds by shooting him a look.    
  
“Huh,” Steve just says, and Danny wonders for a second if Steve is actually going to argue with him over leaving deadly weapons scattered around the house when his eight-year-old daughter is coming to visit. But Steve just says, “Well, come on then. Off to mine” and heads out the door. 


	2. Something More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Of course you do,” Danny sighs, already dreading the conversation he’s about to witness._

“This is one sick bastard we’re dealing with here,” Chin says as he enters the office, Kono in tow.    
  
“What’d he do this time?” Danny asks, joining the rest of the team in the bullpen.    
  
“We just went to see Hernandez,” Chin says, placing an evidence bag on the tech-table.    
  
“She’s a complete mess, by the way,” Kono adds, and Danny can see on Kono’s face that it has gotten to her.    
  
“She found this cell phone in her living room,” Chin says, pointing to the object in the bag, “He’s been using it to spy on her.”    
  
“He got into her house?” Steve asks at the same time as Danny says, “How?”    
  
“I took a quick look on the way over,” Chin explains, “Looks like he installed the automatic pick-up on the phone, and put it on ‘silent’. Basically all he had to do was call this cell phone whenever he wanted ears in her house.”   
  
Steve nods understanding, “He calls, phone picks up automatically and he can hear every single thing being said in the room.”    
  
“Exactly,” Chin says.    
  
“And he didn’t even have to buy any fancy equipment,” Danny shakes his head.    
  
“How did he get in, though?” Kono ponders aloud, “There were no signs of breaking and entering. And Gabby’s been freaked out for months now, she’s locking her doors and not letting anyone in that she doesn’t know.”   
  
Neither of them seem to have an answer.    
  
“Okay Chin, check out anything you can find on the memory of this phone,” Steve says, “We need to know where those calls were coming from. Kono, I need you to find out where the phone was bought. We need to trace it back to its owner.”   
  
“On it, boss,” Kono nods, opening her laptop on the edge of the table.    
  
Chin is already tinkering away at the tech-table.    
  
“Maybe we should set up surveillance?” Danny asks, taking a step closer to Steve, “If he notices the phone’s gone, he might be tempted to go plant another one in her house?”    
  
“He’s not gonna risk it,” Steve shakes his head, “I bet you anything by now he knows we’ve got that phone. He probably has eyes on the house.”   
  
“Like a hidden camera?” Danny asks, crossing his arms in front of his chest.    
  
Steve goes quiet, ponders for a minute before grabbing his cell phone.   
  
“Of course,” he says, “If he’s so obsessed, he’s going to want to know who goes in and out of her house. He probably knows all of our faces by now as well. If he has ears on the place, he’s gonna have eyes as well.”    
  
“So, a hidden camera?” Danny repeats, “Which would have to send the feed back to him somehow.”   
  
“Exactly,” Steve says, starting to punch some numbers into his phone, “And I know just the person who can track the camera and trace back the feed.”    
  
“Of course you do,” Danny sighs, already dreading the conversation he’s about to witness.    
  
“Cath!” Steve shouts enthusiastically into the phone, “Am I glad to hear you!”   
  
Danny turns and pretends to be interested in whatever Chin is doing on the tech-table. His eyes follow Chin’s swift hands, but his ears are focused on Steve’s voice.    
  
“Now why would you think I’d only call ‘cause I need a favor?” Danny can tell from Steve’s voice that his smile is broad and wicked. “But don’t you love helping me out? Don’t I always make it worth your while?”    
  
Danny can feel Kono’s eyes flick over, but he pretends he doesn’t notice and just clenches his jaw. He knows he should be doing something, should appear busy, or in the very least not stand there like he’s about to lose every ounce of self-control he has. But he can’t. So he just swallows hard and listens to Steve.    
  
“Hey, you can’t blame it all on me,” Steve grins, “I made plenty of dinner reservations, it’s not just my fault we never seemed to make it.”    
  
Now Chin’s looking at Danny too and Danny makes the mistake of meeting his eyes ‘cause Chin’s look makes him feel even worse. It’s sympathy and awkwardness all rolled into one and Danny just can’t stand it. He’s a confident man, dammit. He shouldn’t be reduced to this, he’s acting like a petty jealous boyfriend and he doesn’t like it one bit.    
  
Then Steve says, “Okay, I’ll tell you what. Next time I call, I promise it’ll just be pleasantries and no work!” and Danny just can’t take it anymore. His head snaps up and before he knows it he turns on his heels and heads for his office, slamming the door behind him. He closes the blinds with a sharp pull of the cords and resists the urge to kick something. He plops down into his chair and he growls as he pushes the heels of his hands onto his eyes.    
  
It doesn’t take long for Steve to step into Danny’s office, and Danny can’t even believe the innocent sound of his voice as he asks, “What’s the matter with you?”    
  
Danny sighs and lets his arms fall back to his side. He almost laughs as he sees the complete guilt-free expression on Steve’s face, a perfect match to the tone of his voice.    
  
“Are you for real?” Danny snaps, even though he knows they shouldn’t be doing this at work.    
  
“What are you talking about?” Steve asks, frowning.    
  
For a brief moment, Danny just stares at Steve and wonders if it’s even a battle worth fighting. He wonders how Steve can spend so much time with him, day after day, night after night, and still not seem to know Danny at all.    
  
“Nothing,” Danny sighs “Just… It’s not worth it.”    
  
“Danny,” Steve starts, but Danny cuts him off as he gets up and walks past Steve.    
  
“No Steven, just forget it. ‘cause if you don’t see anything wrong with the phone call you just had, then I don’t even know what to say,” Danny says, and Steve grabs his arm before he can walk out of the office.    
  
“It was just Catherine,” Steve says, squeezing Danny’s arm.    
  
Danny looks down at where Steve’s fingers are wrapped around his arm. He can feel the warmth of Steve’s hand radiate through the fabric of his shirt. He has to fight to urge to lean in, to burrow into Steve’s embrace just as much as he has to fight the urge to push him away and maybe punch him in the face while he’s at it.    
  
“And I’m  _just_  Danny,” he says instead and he wishes his voice didn’t sound so damn near breaking.    
  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Steve yells through the hallway as Danny’s making his way to the exit.    
  
He doesn’t want to look back, doesn’t want to see the look on Steve’s face. Doesn’t want to see Chin and Kono standing there, no doubt feeling sorry for him.    
  
“I don’t know,” Danny answers quietly, then a bit louder, “I’m going for lunch.”    
  
He heads for his car and doesn’t expect Steve to come after him. Like that’s even going to happen.    
  
***   
  
Danny’s not surprised when it’s Kono that finds him sitting on a bench, looking out over the beach.    
  
“You know, when people say they’re going for lunch they usually pick up something to eat,” Kono says as she hands him a sandwich.    
  
“I left my wallet in the office,” Danny admits and watches her sit down next to him, “It sort of loses effect when you storm out like a true drama queen only to hurry back in for your wallet…”    
  
“It does ruin the dramatic flair, I’ll give you that,” Kono smiles weakly before taking a bite from her own sandwich.    
  
Even though he’s not particularly hungry, Danny follows her example.    
  
“Steve’s walking around like a headless chicken,” Kono says, not bothering to swallow before she speaks and Danny wonders how such a graceful woman can turn into such a pig sometimes.    
  
He sighs and asks her, “Was I not supposed to care about the phone call?”    
  
“Nah brah,” Kono says a little too fast as she shakes her head, “That phone call was just wrong.”    
  
In a way Danny’s glad to have his feelings validated, but somehow it only makes him feel worse.    
  
“You’re not even going to pretend to be surprised, are you?” Danny asks, ‘cause he realises all of a sudden that they never actually filled Chin and Kono in on what was going on between him and Steve.    
  
“You don’t work with blind people, Danny,” Kono says simply, “But… Look, I know boss-man’s not exactly the most considerate person in the world, but even he should’ve known it’s a crappy thing to do to flirt with your Lieutenant-with-benefits when your boyfriend is standing right there.”    
  
“Sometimes I don’t know if he really doesn’t get it, or if he doesn’t  _want_  to get it,” Danny says.    
  
“You need to talk to him, Danny,” Kono says, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder.    
  
“And have it all come crashing down around me?” Danny says and shakes his head.    
  
“You’d rather let it eat you up inside until you’re a miserable old man?” Kono asks.    
  
“As opposed to the ray of sunshine I am now?” Danny smirks, trying to lighten the mood.    
  
“I think you’d be more of a sunshine if Steve started treating you the way you deserve,” Kono counters, and Danny can tell that she really cares and he can’t help but be grateful for her friendship.    
  
“I think it’s just one of those things,” Danny says, “Have you ever known Steve to be in a relationship? I just think this is how he does it. That this is what I get, that his level of attachment doesn’t go any further. And I should be grateful that I’m getting this much.”   
  
“Do you have any idea how wrong that sounds, Williams?” Kono asks with her don’t-mess-with-me voice, “You’re just as much of a prize as he is, Danny. And Steve needs to see that. What good does being grateful do you if it’s making you unhappy?”    
  
Danny sighs and leans back against the bench. His sandwich lies, half eaten, next to him.    
  
“If I lose him, I lose everything,” he says.    
  
“So does he,” Kono answers.    
  
“Aren’t you supposed to be just the rookie?” Danny asks with a sudden smile.    
  
“I’ve got good genes,” Kono smiles back, then gets up. “We should be getting back.”    
  
Danny nods and reluctantly gets up. He can’t avoid Steve forever, after all.    
  
***   
  
When Danny steps back into headquarters, Steve is hunched over the tech-table talking to Chin. They both fall quiet when they see him and Kono walk in and Danny wishes he was anywhere but here. Steve looks at him, clenches his jaw and goes back to stare at whatever it is that’s on the table.    
  
Danny just stands there and stares, feeling his stomach clench and his courage sink into his shoes. Kono poking him in the ribs with her elbows shock-starts him into moving towards the middle of the room.    
  
Danny clears his throat before asking Steve, “Look, can I see you in your office for a second?”    
  
Steve meets Danny’s eyes, looking like he’s contemplating what to say, and then Danny’s phone is going off and Steve looks back down at the table.    
  
Danny fishes the phone out of his pocket, frowns when he sees the number of Grace’s school on the screen and puts the phone quickly to his ear. “Williams.”    
  
“Mister Williams,” a familiar voice streams through the phone, “This is Principal Kaeo from your daughter’s school.”   
  
Danny feels his chest tighten and can’t hide a sliver of panic as he asks “Did something happen to Grace?”    
  
All eyes are on him now as, but Principal Kaeo’s voice reassures him quickly, “She’ll be just fine, Mister Williams. But I’m afraid she fell during recess and hurt her arm. The school nurse is on her way to the hospital with Grace as we speak.”   
  
Danny lets out a deep breath, “Do you think it’s broken?”    
  
“It’s quite possible,” comes the answer, “She was running and took a tumble. One of the teachers saw her fall and she landed quite badly on her left arm. We didn’t want to take any risks, which is why they’re on their way to the hospital now.”    
  
“Yes, of course, thank you,” Danny says, feeling somewhat reassured that it’s nothing worse. With all the bad news he’s had to tell parents over the years, he prays he’ll never have to be at the receiving end. “Has her mother been contacted yet?”    
  
“I have called her but got hold of her voicemail. I left a message explaining what happened and where the school nurse was taking Grace,” the principal answers, “Then I immediately called you.”    
  
“Thank you very much, Mister Kaeo,” Danny says, “I’m leaving for the hospital now. Thank you.”    
  
Danny looks up from his phone to find Kono and Chin staring at him with a worried look on their face. Steve, however, has turned ash-white and has a pain-stricken look on his face.    
  
“Grace hurt her arm,” Danny says, his eyes fixed on Steve, “Probably broken. I need to get to the hospital.”    
  
“Yeah man. Go,” Kono says, almost shooing him out the door.    
  
Steve follows him outside, and Danny takes another good look at his face before saying, “I’ll drive.”    
  
Steve gets into the passenger seat without arguing.


	3. Something More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _When they reach the admission desk, Steve looks about ready to barge into every single room in the building to find Grace._

“Accidents are bound to happen with kids,” Danny says on the way over to the hospital, ‘cause the look of horror on Steve’s face refuses to fade away, “It’s just her arm. The principal assured me she’d be fine.”    
  
Steve nods but doesn’t answer as he continues to stare out the window.    
  
“I went through enough scraped knees and accidental cuts to know when to worry. A broken arm – if it even  _is_  broken – is not the end of the world, you know that too,” Danny tries again, a small smile on his face as he glances over at Steve, “It’s going to be fine, Steve.”    
  
“I know,” Steve says, but his face is telling otherwise.    
  
They luck out and find a parking spot near the entrance though Danny suspects Steve might’ve suggested the parking spot reserved for emergency vehicles if they hadn’t.    
  
When they reach the admission desk, Steve looks about ready to barge into every single room in the building to find Grace.    
  
“Grace Williams, please?” Danny tells the nurse who’s standing behind the desk, “We were told she hurt her arm.”    
  
“Ah,” the woman – she’s in her early thirties, with short curly hair, and ridiculously ugly glasses – tells them as she shuffles around some papers, “Hold on a second. I think…”    
  
By now, Steve is crowding over the desk, his entire body tense as the woman goes on, “You’ll have to wait a moment, there’s…”    
  
But Steve’s already banging his hand on the desk and his voice is loud and unyielding enough to cause the woman to flinch. “We’re not going to  _wait_ , alright? We came over as fast as we could. She’s our daughter, for fuck’s sake!”   
  
Danny’s head snaps up at Steve’s little tirade. He wants to tell Steve to calm the hell down, to tell the nurse to please not take offence, but his mind is stuck on those two little words Steve just screamed out.    
  
_Our daughter._   
  
The nurse starts stammering and Steve seems to realize what he’s just said ‘cause he’s taking a step back and turning away from the desk to let Danny handle it.    
  
“I meant to say that we’re experiencing a small computer problem so I can’t get in the system,” the woman tells them, her face a bit flushed now, “But I wrote down who was taken into which room and… ah, here it is.”   
  
She takes out a small piece of paper as she pushes her glasses a little further up her nose.    
  
“Grace Williams,” she reads and points to the elevators down the hall, “Room 2148. That’s on the second floor, then to your left.”   
  
“Thank you,” Danny says, trying to put up his friendliest smile to reassure the poor woman.    
  
He pulls at Steve’s arm, who seems to be frozen in its spot.    
  
“Come on then,” Danny says as he moves towards the elevator. He can feel Steve close behind.    
  
“You seriously need to brush up on your people-skills,” Danny sighs, ‘cause he’s desperate to fill the silence and he really doesn’t know what to say otherwise.    
  
Steve mutters something incomprehensible and steps into the elevator. They find their way to Grace’s room in silence.    
  
Grace’s face lights up as she sees Danny and Steve walk in the room.    
  
“Danno!” she screams and she holds out her good arm to catch Danny in an embrace.    
  
“Oh Monkey,” Danny says, squeezing her tightly against him but steering clear of her injured arm, “What did you do, you crazy girl?”    
  
“I fell,” she says as Danny presses his lips against her forehead.    
  
She looks over at Steve, who’s standing by the door, his eyes fixed on Grace as if any minute now she might vanish into thin air. “Hi Uncle Steve,” she beams and Steve forces out a weak smile as he says, “Hey Gracie.”    
  
Danny turns to the doctor and the nurse standing next to Grace and reaches out his hand, “Hi, I’m Danny Williams, Grace’s dad. That’s Steve McGarrett, my partner.”    
  
The doctor introduces himself as Danny notices the plaster the nurse seems to be preparing.    
  
“I take it it’s broken then?” Danny asks, gesturing towards the plaster-mixture.    
  
“It is. It’s a hairline fracture of the ulna. That’s the bone right here,” the doctor points to the back of Grace’s forearm, “She’ll need to wear a cast for a few weeks, but it should heal quite nicely.”   
  
Danny nods, thankful, and dares a quick glance over at Steve, who hasn’t moved since they entered the room.    
  
“This gentleman will administer the plaster,” the doctor says, nodding towards the nurse who’s stirring the big bowl of plaster-mixture, “Grace got to choose the color herself.”    
  
“Purple, Monkey?” Danny smiles, “Now that’s a good choice. We’ll have to get markers and ask everyone to sign it, yeah?”   
  
Grace grins as the doctor moves towards the door, preparing to leave.    
  
“She’s been very brave, Mister Williams,” the doctor adds, smiling at Grace, “She didn’t even cry when she was brought in.”    
  
Danny flashes a proud beam at Grace as he pulls her close in his embrace, “That’s my girl. That’s really good of you, Monkey.”   
  
“I cried a little when I fell though,” Grace admits in a small voice.   
  
“Well of course you did!” Danny crouches down a bit to reassure her, “That must’ve really really hurt, right? Only crazy people don’t cry when they fall and break their arm.”   
  
“Did Uncle Steve cry when he broke his arm?” Grace asks, eyes wide as she looks at Steve.    
  
“Isn’t Uncle Steve a little crazy?” Danny smiles as he pokes his finger in Grace’s side, which causes her to start giggling, “Uncle Steve’s not crazy, Daddy.”    
  
“Sure I’m not,” Steve says finally, but his voice is soft and distant. “But I can’t remember if I cried or not,” he adds as he winks at Grace.    
  
“Uncle  _Steve_ ,” Grace giggles, as if to say she’s not buying into his story.    
  
“Uncle Steve didn’t have the sense to choose a pretty color for his plaster though,” Danny says just in time for the nurse to position himself next to Grace, the bowl on the examination table next to her.    
  
“Alrighty Grace,” he says, “Let’s wrap up that arm of yours.”    
  
Grace nods and holds out her arm. The man takes the arm carefully into his hands and starts administrating the plaster.    
  
Steve clears his throat as he takes a few steps closer to Danny, saying, “I’d better get back to HQ.”    
  
“What?” Danny asks, lowering his voice as he guides Steve towards the door, out of Grace’s earshot, “Come on. I thought we could take her for some shaved ice or something.”   
  
“You do that,” Steve says, his eyes already on the door, “I’ll take a cab back to the office.”    
  
He quickly glances back at Grace, saying, “Gracie, I have to go now. Goodbye, sweetheart!”   
  
“Can’t you stay, Uncle Steve?” Grace asks and Danny wonders how his daughter’s pleading look isn’t breaking Steve’s heart.    
  
“I’m sorry, Grace,” Steve says, waving at her, “But your Dad’s gonna take you for shaved ice, alright?”    
  
Grace nods sadly, turning her attention back to the plaster. Steve slips out the door with Danny hot on his heels.    
  
“What’s the matter with you? She wants you to stay,” Danny says, trying to keep his voice down in the otherwise silent hallway.    
  
“She has you,” Steve states matter-of-factly, eyes everywhere but on Danny.    
  
“Of course she does,” Danny grits through his teeth, “I think the point is that she thinks she has you too. Does she?”    
  
Steve scuffs his boot on the floor and ducks his head, saying “Look, I get that you’re mad about the phone call, but…”    
  
“Forget the fucking phone call, Steve,” Danny hisses a little too loudly, and gets an angry look from a passing nurse for his efforts, “I’m talking about my daughter here. I guess I can take a few of your emotional punches, but she really shouldn’t have to…”    
  
“Danny, I’m not…” Steve starts but then he doesn’t seem to know what to say, and Danny thinks he must have the best karma ever ‘cause the school nurse decides to walk up to them at that precise moment, all smiles and good intentions.    
  
“Detective Williams!” she exclaims, her hand outstretched to shake his, “I just got off the phone with Grace’s mother.”   
  
Danny forces himself to smile as he shakes the woman’s hand. Steve puts his hand gingerly on Danny’s upper arm and says, “I gotta go now. I’ll see you later, okay?”    
  
“Steve…” Danny tries, but Steve’s already marching steadily towards the elevator, his hand reaching for his phone, no doubt about to call a taxi.    
  
Danny stares at him for a moment before turning his attention back to the short woman still standing in front of him, smiling eagerly.    
  
“Thank you for bringing Gracie in,” Danny says as he opens the door back to Grace’s room, waving his hand for the school nurse to walk in.    
  
He follows her into the room, just in time to see the nurse finishing up his plaster-job on Grace’s arm. She’s staring down at her arm, her expression caught between sad and in awe, and Danny pushes away thoughts of Steve to the back of his mind. It’s not like he can deal with it now. At this moment, it’s Grace that needs him.    
  
***   
  
At Danny’s not so subtle request, Kamekona only turns a quarter of Grace’s cast into a shaved iced ad-campaign. Grace doesn’t seem to mind and Kamekona doesn’t even charge them anything for the mix of five new flavors he puts in front of Grace.    
  
Between bites, Grace explains to Danny where Kono and Chin will have to sign, and how she’s reserved a special spot on the cast for Danny and Steve.    
  
“Will Uncle Steve be able to sign it today?” she asks, making her way through the flavors.    
  
“I don’t think so,” Danny answers honestly, “I’m taking you back to your Mom’s after this.”   
  
“Can’t we go by your work and have him sign it on the way over to Mom’s?” Grace asks, big eyes looking hopeful at her father.    
  
“I promised your Mom I’d drop you off as soon as we were finished here, Monkey.” Danny says, “But you can get everyone to sign this weekend, alright?”    
  
“Okay,” she nods, digging back into the shaved ice.    
  
Danny steals a bite and shoots Kamekona two thumbs up when he sees the big man glancing over at them. Kamekona beams that ridiculous big smile of his their way before returning his attention to some new costumers.    
  
“Danno?” Grace asks, and Danny watching his daughter’s face turn into a frown, “Is Uncle Steve mad at me?”    
  
The words twist into Danny’s stomach like a knife.    
  
“What? Why would you think that?”    
  
“Because he didn’t want to stay,” Grace says, the fingers of her good hand scratching the edge of her cast, “And he hardly said anything…”    
  
“Oh sweetie, Uncle Steve’s not mad at you, I promise,” Danny says, throwing his arm around her, “Why would he be mad? You’re the most wonderful girl in the world!”   
  
“Then why didn’t he stay?”    
  
Her eyes are big and sad and Danny always promised himself he’d kick the ass of the person who made his daughter look this way. He’s not sure he should stop himself just because that person happens to be Steve. In fact, he thinks it’s all the more reason to kick his ass twice, at the very least.    
  
“You know,” Danny says, squeezing his arms around Grace, “Steve is like Shrek. And we’re more like Donkey, right?”    
  
Danny pats himself on the back because at least it gets a small smile out of Grace.    
  
“We’re much better with the talking,” Danny goes on, “A true Williams can talk your ear off, you know?”    
  
Grace grins as she nods.    
  
“See, totally like Donkey,” Danny says, “We’re not afraid to say what we think and feel. And your Uncle Steve… well, he’s Shrek, isn’t he?”    
  
“Shrek’s grumpy,” Grace says.    
  
“He sure seems that way,” Danny tries a smile, “But he’s never  _really_  mad, is he?”   
  
“Shrek loves Donkey,” Grace smiles, clearly satisfied with the explanation Danny has offered.    
  
Danny nods absentmindedly, wondering if that’s where the analogy ends. 


	4. Something More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Fine,” Danny mutters, his back turned towards Steve, “Except for the fact that she’s convinced you’re mad at her.”_

When Danny pulls up on Steve’s driveway after dropping Grace off at her mother’s, he sits in the car for a good ten minutes, considering what he’s even doing there. He wonders what it would be like to walk away, to not do this to himself anymore, to not let Steve make him feel this way. But when he thinks back at his daughter, he knows he’s already in way too deep. Because Danny’s not the only one that loves Steve anymore. Grace loves him too, and not just the way she loves Chin and Kono.    
  
Danny wants to tell Grace that maybe she shouldn’t love Steve, that maybe she shouldn’t depend on him to be there, to depend on him to love her back. But Danny knows he can’t do that, ‘cause how can he convince his daughter when he can’t even convince himself?    
  
It isn’t until Steve opens the front door and stares at Danny sitting in his car on the driveway that Danny finally moves. He wonders how long Steve’s known he’s been there, and how much effort it took to acknowledge that fact.    
  
Danny forces himself out of the car with a sigh and walks up to the house, pushing past Steve as he steps into the living room.    
  
He can tell from the way Steve composes himself that he knows not to act as if nothing is wrong. Danny pushes back a bitter laugh as he can’t help but think that at least it’s some kind of progress.    
  
“How’s Gracie?” Steve asks and he’s standing in the middle of the living room like he’s not sure where he is or how to act. Like he’s not standing in his own home.    
  
“Fine,” Danny mutters, his back turned towards Steve, “Except for the fact that she’s convinced you’re mad at her.”    
  
“Mad?” Steve asks surprised, “Why would she think I’m mad…?”    
  
“Oh Gee Steve, I don’t know?” Danny asks but the words come out more tired than angry, “Maybe because you didn’t even bother to stay with her for five minutes?”    
  
“She didn’t need me, what was I supposed to do? There was a doctor there, and…” Steve starts.   
  
But Danny’s finally finding his angry streak as he cuts him off, “You weren’t supposed to set her arm or put the fucking cast on yourself, Steven! That’s not why she wanted you there! I think she was just expecting you to be there for her! And you know what?  _I_  was expecting you to be there for her!”   
  
“I was there!” Steve calls out indignant.    
  
“You left the second the adrenaline rush was over and you realized you didn’t have to save her life, the second you realized you didn’t have to kick anyone’s ass or throw around hand grenades!” Danny shouts back.    
  
“That’s not…” Steve starts, but his words get lost somewhere along the way.    
  
“What the hell is the matter with you?” Danny goes on with hands slicing through the air and his face turning red from the volume of his voice, “One minute you’re almost threatening a nurse into giving up the room number, yelling out, calling Grace your daughter, and the next you can’t get out of there fast enough, even when she fucking asks you to stay!”   
  
Steve shifts slightly on his feet, jaw clenched.    
  
“I just don’t get you!” Danny continues, “I don’t know what goes on in that head of yours. Half the time I don’t know if you’re fucking me or fucking  _with_  me! You’re flirting your ass off with Catherine when I’m standing right there, when Chin and Kono are standing  _right there_  and you act like it’s no big deal, like I’m just supposed to suck it up and get over it or something? But I can’t, okay? I can’t ‘cause it’s not just me anymore. I had to explain to my daughter that her Uncle Steve wasn’t really mad at her and she was looking at me with that sad puppy dog look she gets, and that’s on you, Steve! It’s all on you!”   
  
Danny is almost too caught up in his anger to see Steve’s face turn white again, to see him swallow down hard and look at Danny with almost the exact same look he just described on Grace.    
  
Danny shuts up when he sees Steve struggling to get words out.    
  
“I’m sorry.”   
  
Steve’s voice cracks and his face has gone completely unreadable. Danny wants to hang on to his anger, wants to get everything out while he’s finally worked up the courage, but he finds himself faltering as he hears the emotion in Steve’s voice.    
  
Danny’s bites down hard on his own teeth, fighting not to give in to Steve this easily.    
  
“You’re sorry?” he asks Steve, who’s still just standing there as if he’s completely lost.    
  
Steve swallows again and nods slightly, “I don’t know, I… I can’t… I’m sorry. For the hospital, and… and calling her ours, and…”    
  
Danny closes his eyes and sighs deeply. “You asshole.” But his tone doesn’t portray the words. “That’s the one thing I didn’t want an apology for.”    
  
When Danny opens his eyes again, Steve is just standing there, watching him like he doesn’t know what’s supposed to happen next. And Danny realizes that he’s not going to get a whole lot more from Steve tonight.    
  
“Just…” Danny says, a hint of exasperation seeping through as he reaches out for Steve, “Come here…”    
  
Steve obliges and wraps his arms around Danny, pressing his lips firmly against the other man’s mouth.    
  
***   
When Danny wakes up the next morning, eyes blinking against the incoming sun, he needs a few seconds to clear the haze in his head to realize that something is different. He shifts a little to turn on his side and finds himself pinned down by a firm arm draped over his chest. He looks over next to him and sees Steve squinting his face and his mouth turning into a light pout as he stirs a little and gently opens his eyes.    
  
Steve blinks a few times as he looks into Danny’s eyes – wide open now – and smiles.    
  
Danny thinks his heart might explode from a single look and he twists and turns into Steve’s grip to be able to lock him into a kiss. He can’t contain the happiness he’s feeling over finding Steve still next to him when he wakes up.    
  
“Morning,” Steve mumbles against Danny’s lips as Danny slides his leg over Steve’s body, then pushing up to straddle his hips.    
  
“Morning,” Danny says, his face blossoming open into a beautiful smile as he pulls back just enough to enjoy the sight of Steve pinned down beneath his body, glowing in the morning sun.    
  
Steve’s grinning as he lets his head lull to the side, quietly amused by Danny’s enthusiasm. His hands slip around Danny’s back, pulling him back down to create more friction. Danny’s already completely hard, and Steve’s not far behind, especially not now that Danny’s grinding his hips down in small circles as his tongue seeks entrance in Steve’s mouth. Steve groans into the kiss that heats up but at a lazy pace. Then, as if someone turned on a switch inside of him, he pushes himself up from the bed with one arm, and flips the two of them over, the other arm snaked around Danny’s waist as he flops down on top of him.    
  
“Someone sure is in the mood this morning,” Steve smiles as he traces kisses from under Danny’s ear to his collarbone.    
  
Danny wants to comment that they could be like this every morning if only Steve could bother to stay in bed, but bites his tongue before biting Steve’s earlobe, too wrapped up in their embrace to ruin the mood with snide comments.    
  
“All your doing, babe” Danny smiles instead, his breathing hard and heavy already.    
  
He slips his hand between their bodies, Steve lifting his hips slightly to give Danny the access he needs to wrap his fingers around Steve’s cock. Steve responds with an appropriate gasp, his hips twitching at every one of Danny’s strokes.    
  
“You know,” Danny grins between kisses, “If you hadn’t been so dead set on flipping us over, I could’ve been going down on you by now…”    
  
“Oh really?” Steve asks, smiling eyes meeting Danny’s for a second before he nearly slaps Danny’s hand away and rolls onto his back, pulling Danny down on top of him.    
  
“All yours, babe,” Steve smiles, arching his back slightly as he tilts his head back and closes his eyes.    
  
“There’s no need for cockiness,” Danny teases, but he can’t keep the love out of his voice. He loves this side of Steve, and he feels like maybe he’s finally getting everything he ever wanted, everything he’s supposed to deserve.    
  
Steve just chuckles in response as Danny trails a path of kisses down Steve’s chest. A sharp intake of breath fills his lungs with Steve’s scent before he teasingly nips at the tip of Steve’s cock. Steve hums a little, restraining himself from pushing his body up. Danny slides his tongue over the length of Steve’s cock, lingering as he reaches the head. But he can’t keep up the teasing for long, wanting to wrap himself around Steve just as much as Steve wants him to.    
  
A hand finds its way into Danny’s hair, the fingers running through the strands tightening every now and then, perfectly in sync with Danny flicking his tongue over the tip of Steve’s cock or letting his teeth just toy with the idea of scraping along the length.    
  
Danny breathes in every grunt that leaves Steve’s throat, every twitch of his hips, every squeeze of fingers tightening in his hair. He pushes his own hips down into the mattress, desperate for friction, but refuses to let his hands leave Steve’s body to help out.    
  
“Wait,” Steve breathes, fingers sliding under Danny’s jaw to urge him to stop.    
  
Danny lifts his head and is pleased to see Steve slowly coming apart, though he suspects he’s sporting quite the same look himself.    
  
“I wanna…” Steve grunts, reaching over to the bedside table and Danny knows exactly what he wants.    
  
He finds his way up Steve’s body, allowing himself a few quick strokes before asking, “You wanna come inside of me, Steve?”   
  
Steve just smiles as he tears the condom open with his teeth, the wrapper flying off the side of the bed. Steve pushes Danny down on the bed again, long fingers already seeking entrance. Danny closes his eyes and soon loses himself into Steve’s touch, into the soft sounds that leave Steve’s mouth, into the thrilling sensation of Steve filling him up.    
  
Danny whispers Steve’s name as Steve slips his arm in the crook of Danny’s leg, almost folding him in two, to gain access to just the right spot. Danny gasps and writhes as Steve pushes in, making him lose all sense of the here and now. His hand rests at the nape of Steve’s neck, beads of sweat trickling under his touch. He pulls Steve down for a sloppy kiss, uncoordinated and out of breath, but Danny never wants to let go.    
  
Steve’s hand brushes over Danny’s cock at a steady pace, only changing speed and angle to hear Danny gasp and tighten around Steve.   
  
Danny comes a few moments before Steve, who collapses on top of him with a shuddering sigh. He slides out of Danny, but not before sharing another kiss and Danny feels like he can’t hold himself back anymore, he can’t contain his feelings any longer. His hand is pressed up against the other man’s cheek and he locks eyes with Steve, brushing his lips weakly over Steve’s.    
  
His voice is but a whisper but before Danny knows it the words have left his mouth.    
  
“I love you.”    
  
Steve closes his eyes and smiles faintly, then presses his mouth down on Danny’s. He doesn’t say a word however as he looks down to remove the condom and gently slides out of Danny’s embrace and out of bed. He lets his hand run over Danny’s arm briefly before disappearing into the bathroom.    
  
Danny slumps back down onto the bed, squeezing his eyes shut as he bites back tears. He distantly hears the shower being turned on but he can hardly make out the sounds over the emotions rushing through his veins.    
  
He wipes his stomach clean with the edge of the sheet and forces himself out of the bed. Steve’s bed, he tells himself bitterly, ‘cause it has never really been theirs. He puts on some clothes, laces his shoes, and picks up the few shirts and pants he has lying in Steve’s closet. Then he goes to the spare bedroom and collects the few things that belong to Grace. The shower is still running as Danny walk down the stairs. He feels completely and utterly spent, a churning feeling in the pit of his stomach.    
  
On the coffee table he sees a DVD-box that belongs to him, and one of his books forgotten on the couch. He knows there’s some of Grace’s toys in the cupboard near the window. He bites the inside of his cheek as he gathers all this stuff, together with his wallet and his car keys and steps out of the house.   
  
It takes all of his willpower not to look back as he walks towards his car, not to wonder if Steve has gotten out of the shower yet and noticed that Danny’s gone.    
  
He tells himself he won’t cry, but loses the battle as he drives out of the driveway and away from Steve’s house. 


	5. Something More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Even though he hates himself for being so unprofessional, Danny doesn’t show up for work that day._

Even though he hates himself for being so unprofessional, Danny doesn’t show up for work that day. He’s not quite sure if he expects Steve to call him, but he is in no way surprised when it’s Kono’s name that shows up when his phone finally rings around noon. He considers it for a second but doesn’t pick up, knowing it will no doubt lead to a not-so-surprise visit.    
  
The knock on the door comes about an hour later and Danny just twists the doorknob to let the door fall open and immediately turns back into his apartment, not even bothering to look who it is. He knows it won’t be Steve.    
  
Kono lets herself into the apartment and stares at Danny, no doubt taking in the sweatpants, lack of shoes, and the horrible ‘I heart NJ’ shirt that Danny is wearing. He has no doubt that his hair is sticking out because he’s been laying on his couch all morning.    
  
Before Kono can say anything, Danny waves her off. “Don’t, okay? Please just don’t. I will be at work tomorrow, I promise. I will be showered and clean-shaven, and in an actual shirt and tie, and I will be so professional you’d be surprised, but just… not today. I can’t today, okay?”   
  
Kono nods and asks, “What happened, Danny?”    
  
Danny lets out a snort. “What happened? I… I don’t even know. I thought maybe we were finally good.” And he hates himself all over again for not being able to contain his emotions.    
  
“Oh Danny,” Kono says, and she sounds so damn  _compassionate_  that it nearly kills Danny. She only has to take three steps forward and she’s clinging onto Danny like her life depends on it. Danny just lets himself fall into the embrace, and wonders how someone who looks so tiny and frail doesn’t seem to have any problem holding him up. Because Danny’s pretty sure that without her, he’d currently be a blubbering mess on the floor right now.    
  
Minutes pass and Kono doesn’t ask questions or pull back. She holds on until his breathing evens out and his heart rate slows down and he finally pulls away from her, eyes red and gaze broken.    
  
“I’m sorry,” he mumbles, but Kono gives him a ‘seriously?’ look before waving him off.    
  
Danny goes to sit down on the couch and Kono follows him.    
  
“I think I gave it all up, Kono,” Danny finally says.    
  
“What happened?” she asks, her hand finding its way on top of his.    
  
“He just doesn’t feel it,” Danny answers, “And I can’t pretend that I don’t care any longer.”    
  
“Danny, I’m sure he cares about you,” Kono says, “But you know how he is… I’m not saying it’s an excuse, but sometimes I think that when it comes to emotions, Steve fell out of the clueless tree and hit every branch on the way down.”   
  
Danny can’t help but smile weakly, squeezing Kono’s hand in appreciation.    
  
“Gracie started to depend on him,” Danny says, “And he’s not following through, and… we talked. I yelled.” He gives Kono a look that’s supposed to say ‘what else is new?’ before going on, “And I thought maybe he understood and we were good. I thought… I thought we were finally good. And then I was an idiot and I told him I loved him. And I probably shouldn’t have, but it’s how I feel and I don’t see why I should have to hide it, and…”    
  
“You shouldn’t,” Kono says.   
  
“Only, he just left,” Danny says, his eyes meeting Kono’s. “He got out of bed and he didn’t even say a word. Not a word.”   
  
Kono’s looking positively heartbroken now and she squeezes Danny’s hand between both of hers, but there’s still hint in her eyes that makes Danny wonder if she’s making a mental note to do some serious ass-kicking on his behalf later on.    
  
“So I packed up my shit and I left,” Danny rushes the words out, ending on a deep sigh.    
  
“That explains Steve’s behavior, I guess,” Kono says softly and makes sure Danny nods at her to indicate to go on.    
  
“He hasn’t said three words all morning,” she explains, “He looked… awful, to be honest. When Chin asked where you were, he said you probably wouldn’t be in today, but one look from him made sure we didn’t ask why. He’s been closing himself off in his office most of the time, except when we had to go put some heat on an informant and…”    
  
She stops there, and Danny has to urge her to go on, “What did he do?”    
  
“Well, I don’t think he’ll want to be an informant for Five-0 any longer,” Kono sighs, “Not after Steve broke his nose.”    
  
“He what?” Danny shouts, “Has he completely lost his mind?!”   
  
“No,” Kono says pointedly, “He lost  _you_ .”   
  
Danny didn’t know there was a knife stuck somewhere in his chest, and he certainly didn’t expect it to twist at Kono’s words.    
  
“This is…” Danny starts, up from the couch and pacing the room now, and calls out defensively, “ _I_  didn’t do this.”    
  
“I’m not saying that, Danny, I’m really not,” Kono says, following Danny’s movements, “All I meant to say was… this isn’t the behavior of someone who doesn’t care.”    
  
Danny rakes his hands through his hair and he’s not sure how he’s going to survive the next day at work.    
  
***   
  
Steve doesn’t call or stop by Danny’s apartment that day. Danny checks his cell phone about every two minutes, even though he’s got it on him and should be able to hear if it rings. Still, he can’t seem to help himself. He doesn’t know what he’s expecting exactly. He doesn’t know if he  _wants_  to hear from Steve or not. Mostly he just wants to go back to the very first day they kissed, all those months ago, and make things clear from the start. Maybe he could’ve prevented his heart from getting broken once again.    
  
Danny sleeps all of three full hours that night. He stays in bed until his alarm goes off, mainly because he doesn’t have a clue what else to do.    
  
When he’s standing in front of Iolani Palace, he thinks about getting back in his car and bolting about ten times. But he knows that if he doesn’t go in now, he never will again.    
  
He marches into the office, making as few sounds as he can. He immediately spots Steve sitting behind the desk in his office. He’s reading some papers that are scattered out in front of him. Even though Danny knows Steve well enough to know that he must’ve been aware that Danny has arrived, he makes no effort to acknowledge that fact.    
  
Kono and Chin are standing at the tech-table as Danny pushes past Steve’s office, eyes fixed on the two cousins.    
  
“Hey,” Danny says, a hand on Kono’s arm, “Thanks for yesterday.”    
  
Kono smiles at him sympathetically, “Anytime, brah.”   
  
Danny simply nods, then shoots Chin a weak smile. Chin nods his hello, mirroring Danny’s smile, but Danny can tell he knows everything. Chin always does.    
  
“So what did I miss?” Danny asks, trying to sound as casual as possible.    
  
“Steve got his ass kicked by the Governor for his little outburst yesterday,” Kono says, eyes glancing over Danny’s shoulder towards Steve’s office. Danny resists the urge to look behind him.    
  
“Heads up,” Chin mutters as he turns away slightly, and Danny hears the door of Steve’s office open.    
  
“I got a call from the lab,” Steve says as he walks towards the table, not bothering with niceties, “There might be something on the last package our stalker left. There’s a link with some DNA that was found in a burglary case in ’02.”    
  
Steve comes to a halt at the tech-table, standing between Kono and Danny. Danny thinks maybe he deliberately chose this side of the table so it would be easier to avoid eye-contact.    
  
“Chin, why don’t you and I go check what they have?” Steve says, and Danny does his best not to react.    
  
Then Kono’s already grabbing Chin’s arm, saying, “I’ll go with Chin, boss. I know the guy at the lab.”   
  
“Kono…” Steve grumbles, but they’re already half-way to the door, and Kono shoots Steve a look that says not to argue with her.    
  
Before Danny realizes what happened, Chin and Kono are gone and he’s left alone with Steve in the middle of the bullpen, and there’s no one else Steve can turn his attention to.    
  
When he finally speaks, Steve is still not meeting Danny’s eyes.   
  
“I still have a, uh… a pair of dress pants at your place.”    
  
Danny doesn’t know if it’s the tone of his voice or the non-segue that makes him take a while to get his head together.    
  
“Yeah,” Danny says eventually, “I’ll bring ‘em tomorrow.”    
  
“Okay,” Steve says, and turns to leave for his office again.    
  
“Seriously?” Danny asks, turning towards Steve, “That’s it?”   
  
Steve freezes and faces Danny. Danny can tell he hasn’t slept much either. His face looks pale and there are wrinkles around his eyes that usually aren’t there. His jaw seems to be eternally clenched, but his eyes can still touch Danny to his very core.    
  
“This is it?” Danny asks, “We sleep together for months and all you can say is that you have a pair of dress pants you need to recover? That’s all you care about right now?”    
  
“You took all your stuff,” Steve shrugs simply.    
  
“Right,” Danny swallows hard, “’cause it was just that easy.”    
  
“You didn’t have to do it,” Steve says, and some of the anger is finally showing.    
  
“No,” Danny spits, “No, you’re right. I didn’t have to. I could’ve just gone on like this. Gone on into this… this… I don’t even know what this is!”    
  
He’s biting back tears now, almost choking on his own emotions as he goes on, “What am I to you, Steve? Am I just a warm body? Just a filler in your bed? Someone you can have a nice fuck with, but you certainly don’t have to take their feelings into account? And what was I supposed to do? Just go on like this? I tell I love you and you don’t even bother to let me down gently. You just go. And then you expect me to stay, knowing full well the way I feel and that you don’t feel the same way? I just let you fuck with my head ‘cause it’s nice and convenient for you, and I just forget about all the things I can’t have? I knew it didn’t mean much to you, but I never knew it was so little…”    
  
“You’re being entirely unfair,” Steve counters, and if Danny didn’t know better he would think he saw Steve eyes turn red and glossy, “I never treated you like that. I never meant to hurt you.”    
  
“I know,” Danny says, rubbing away the wetness on his cheek with the palm of his hand, “But it happened anyway.”   
  
“I know what you want me to say,” Steve’s voice is almost down to a whisper, and Danny just starts shaking his head, because he’s not sure he wants to hear this.    
  
“I know,” Steve repeats, “But I can’t.”   
  
Danny closes his eyes and wonders how he can feel nauseous even though he hasn’t eaten anything all day.    
  
“It’s not that I want you to say it,” Danny whispers finally, “I want you to mean it.”    
  
Before Steve can say anything – if he was even planning on saying something – Danny’s phone rings. They both recognize Rachel’s ringtone, and Steve says, “Take it.”    
  
Danny sighs, not sure he wants this conversation to end, because he’s afraid they’ll never take it up again and that’ll be it. Case closed. The end. And not a happy one.    
  
Danny picks up anyway, and Rachel asks him if he wants to go get Grace after school, maybe spend a few hours with her before dropping her off at Rachel’s. Danny’s never one to pass up on spending time with his daughter, and he thinks maybe having Grace close to him for a few hours might significantly brighten this crappy day he’s been having, so he accepts gratefully.    
  
By the time he hangs up on Rachel, Steve’s already back in his office, behind closed blinds.    
  
***   
  
When Grace walks down the steps of her school and falls into Danny’s waiting arms, Danny thinks he might never be able to let go. Grace’s cast is pressing into his shoulder, but he doesn’t mind one single bit.    
  
It’s when they’re in the car and Danny makes sure Grace has buckled up her seatbelt that he notices Steve’s name in big letters on the cast, in exactly the spot Grace had reserved for him, right next to Danny’s name.   
  
“Monkey, how come Uncle Steve’s name is on your cast?” he asks, trying hard not to sound desperate.    
  
“He wrote it on there,” Grace says, as if that answers all questions.    
  
Danny just stares at his daughter, his keys still in his hand, and Grace says, “Uncle Steve came to see me at school yesterday during recess. And I asked him to sign it. This way I didn’t have to wait until we see him this weekend.”    
  
Danny blinks a few times, trying to process this information.    
  
“He came during recess?” Danny asks surprised.   
  
“Yeah, because he was sorry he couldn’t stay at the hospital,” Grace says, tracing the letters of Steve’s name on her cast with her finger. She turns to Danny and whispers as if she’s divulging a secret, “And I think he showed his badge to get to see me. But I told Miss Watson that he was my Uncle Steve and it was always okay for him to see me!”    
  
Danny leans his head back and tries to hold in a deep sigh as he mulls over his daughter’s words.    
  
“And he wrote his name really big,” Grace goes on proudly, “I told him where to sign it, next to yours, and he said that that was exactly where it should go. Right next to yours, Danno.”    
  
She looks up at him with a smile that reaches her eyes, and Danny leans over to pull her into a hug. She squeaks in protest, as if she thinks he’s being silly, but she lets him squeeze her against his chest as far as the seatbelt will allow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major thanks to reflexian for letting me use her 'clueless tree' quote. :)


	6. Something More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _When Danny reaches the door of his apartment, he’s so lost in thought that he’s already got his key half-way in the lock when he notices that the door has been kicked open._

When Danny reaches the door of his apartment, he’s so lost in thought that he’s already got his key half-way in the lock when he notices that the door has been kicked open. It’s been pushed shut again, but the frame has splintered and Danny quickly pulls his gun out of its holster. He briefly considers calling for back-up and he’s not quite sure why he doesn’t, but he just pushes open the door carefully, gun outstretched in front of him.    
  
He holsters his gun the second he lays eyes on Steve sitting on the floor in front of the couch, arms leaning on his knees, head ducked.    
  
“Steve, what the hell?” Danny asks confused as he pushes the door closed behind him. There’s a dull thud as it doesn’t really click into place because of the splintered frame.    
  
Steve rubs his hand through his hair, head still ducked, and Danny doesn’t remember Steve ever looking quite so… lost.    
  
He crouches down in front of Steve for a second, then just lets himself fall back on his ass because his knee wouldn’t support him long enough anyway, and he has a feeling he might be here for a long time.    
  
“Why did you…?” Danny trails off, gesturing towards the door.    
  
“I knocked,” Steve says.    
  
“I wasn’t here,” Danny counters, and Steve just shrugs.    
  
“You realize you have a key to my place, right?” Danny frowns, tapping his foot against Steve’s boot to urge him to answer.    
  
“Key’s at home,” Steve sighs, “I didn’t really know I was coming here until I uh, was here.”    
  
Danny knows it probably all makes sense in Steve’s head.    
  
Steve looks small, Danny thinks, like all the life and joy and determination has cleared out of him and left him deflated somehow.    
  
“So you thought you’d just kick the door in and sit here on the floor until I got back?” Danny asks.    
  
“Something like that,” comes the answer.    
  
Danny ponders for a second, leaning his weight back on his outstretched arms, palms flat on the floor behind him. He wonders how he went from being the one that was heartbroken to being the one that wants to pick up the pieces of this person sitting in front of him.    
  
“I know that you’re a sane and rational person,” Danny says eventually, “I mean, you’re smart and… you’re very together. The whole military thing, I guess.”   
  
Steve quirks an eyebrow and briefly meets Danny’s gaze.    
  
“But you do the most idiotic things sometimes,” Danny continues, “If this were anyone other than me, they’d be pressing charges right now. You do realize that, don’t you?”    
  
Steve doesn’t answer, just bites his lip. They sit there in silence for a while – Steve’s eyes fixed on the floor, Danny’s on Steve.    
  
“I should probably give you your key back,” Steve breaks the silence.    
  
“You should keep it,” Danny says, because the last thing he wants is his key back, “I gave it to you before all this, when we were just partners. So I want you to keep it.”   
  
Steve nods.    
  
“I guess I hope that… we can still be partners,” Danny says softly and the words have difficulty coming out because it isn’t at all what he wants.    
  
He wants so much more. He wants everything, and he’s not entirely sure he can go back to being just partners. Danny’s not even sure they ever really were just that. Before this – whatever it may have been – they were flirting and courting each other. They were best friends and something more, and Danny doesn’t know how they’ll ever be ‘just partners’ again. How he’ll have to share space with Steve, knowing that he can’t reach other and touch anymore. How he’ll have to sleep in his own bed, without the warmth and steady breathing of Steve next to him. How he’ll ever love again, if it isn’t Steve.    
  
And then Steve says, “I don’t want to be partners” and Danny has to close his eyes and bring his entire focus to remembering how to breathe ‘cause he feels a pain that has a remarkable resemblance to Grace being taken away by her mother – halfway across the world – and he never thought he’d have to endure anything like it again.    
  
He tries hard not to choke, wondering why he can’t seem to get enough air in his lungs and he thinks that Steve might be speaking again but he can’t seem to breathe and listen at the same time and he’s pretty sure one of them has priority over the other. Then there’s a hand on his arm and everything snaps back into focus and it’s Steve and he can make out the words now.    
  
“…ing that you need to know, and I don’t think I can be just partners with you.”    
  
The words are definitely coming out of Steve’s mouth, but he sounds small and exposed and he’s still not meeting Danny’s eyes.    
  
“I don’t know how to do this,” Steve goes on, “It all went wrong and I don’t know why or how, but this is not what I want.”   
  
“Trust me when I say it’s not what I want either,” Danny says when he finally figures out how to make words leave his mouth again.    
  
“Then how did we get here?” Steve asks, and fuck it if he doesn’t sound completely and utterly sincere. Like he has no clue how all of this came about and he’s just finding himself planted in this scenario, and this isn’t at all what he signed up for.    
  
Danny sighs and pushes himself off the floor.    
  
“We got here because you think of us as fuck-buddies and I was actually stupid enough to fall in love,” Danny says, because sugarcoating it really makes no sense, “And that’s how we got here. And that’s why it’s killing me, and I can’t do it anymore.”    
  
“That’s not… This isn’t what I want,” Steve says again, and he’s still sitting there in that exact same spot on the floor of Danny’s apartment, in front of the couch. He’s sitting there, arms hugging his knees, like he isn’t independent and tall and strong and Goddamn Navy SEAL.    
  
“I don’t know what you want, Steve,” Danny snaps, because he really doesn’t know how much of his own heart he can just lay out in front of him without getting anything in return.    
  
Steve really doesn’t seem to know either, because he’s finally looking up at Danny now, but he doesn’t speak.    
  
“You never say anything, Steve,” Danny starts, “You just go with the flow and I have no idea what you’re thinking most of the time. You never tell me what you want. You never acknowledge the fact that I might want something. You just…”   
  
Danny sighs, letting his hands fall to his side. He feels so damn  _tired_ .    
  
“Don’t you think I know that?” Steve asks finally, “Don’t you think I know I’m not giving you what you want? Don’t you think I want to?”   
  
“I don’t know,” Danny bites back, “How am I supposed to…?”   
  
“I don’t know how to do this!” Steve practically screams, and it takes Danny by surprise.    
  
Steve is getting up off the floor now, and Danny can see that his entire body is rigid and tense. He can see that Steve is trying hard to stay in control, but is fading fast.    
  
“I’m not like you, alright?” Steve grits through his teeth, “I don’t have fifty thousand ways of expressing how I feel. I don’t know how to share each and every emotion. I can’t.”   
  
“But why not?” Danny pleads, hands reaching out for Steve’s, but stopping mid-way.    
  
“I…” Steve tries, “I don’t know how, Danny. I’ve never done this before. Nobody ever…”    
  
“Nobody ever taught you…” Danny whispers as he realizes, and his stomach twists at the thought of Steve basically growing up alone, being left by everyone who was supposed to show him how to love.    
  
“Maybe I don’t have it in me, plain and simple,” Steve shrugs, eyes back to the floor.    
  
Danny can see him closing up right there in front of his eyes.    
  
“No,” Danny says firm, and he can’t help himself this time and he grabs Steve’s hands in his. Steve doesn’t pull away and Danny goes on, “That’s bullshit. There’s a difference between not having it in you and not knowing how to express it.”    
  
“How do you know I have it in me?” Steve asks, looking at Danny as if he might hold all the answers to every question he’s ever asked himself.    
  
“I guess I don’t,” Danny answers honestly, “I hope you do. For obvious and selfish reasons. But I guess you’re the only one who would know for sure.”    
  
Steve is quiet for a few moments, then nods carefully. Danny lets go of Steve’s hands after giving them a quick squeeze.    
  
“I think maybe you need to think about this a while,” Danny suggests hesitantly, “Figure out what you want.”    
  
Steve swallows hard, but nods. He looks up at Danny under long eyelashes and asks, “Can I stay here tonight?”    
  
“I…” Danny blinks, and even though his entire body is screaming for him to say yes, he says, “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”   
  
Steve nods and stands there for a minute, as if he’s not quite sure what to do or where to go.    
  
“Will you still be here when I’ve figured it out?” Steve asks finally.    
  
Danny has to stop himself not to fall into Steve’s arms. Instead he just nods, and manages to get out, “Yes.”    
  
Steve meets his eyes for a second, and then he’s turning towards the door and before Danny knows it, he’s alone in his apartment. He sighs heavily before grabbing his phone and calling Kamekona to send him one of his cousins to fix the door.    
  
***   
  
It takes Steve five days to show up at Danny’s door again.    
  
Five days of awkward but civil behavior at work. Five days, including a weekend in which he had to find a plausible excuse to tell Grace why they weren’t spending it at Uncle Steve’s. Five days of Chin and Kono seemingly observing them scrupulously, as if they were expecting them to either start punching each other’s lights out or throw each other down on the tech-table and screw their brains out. Five days of Danny trying to push down every little sliver of hope that tries to make its way into his heart. Five days of Steve looking at Danny with that  _face_  of his whenever he thinks Danny doesn’t notice.   
  
And after five days, Steve is standing in front of Danny’s door again. To Danny’s relief, he actually waits for an answer after he knocks.    
  
Danny opens the door and Steve walks past him, his lack of confidence only partially hidden by his big smile as he looks around the apartment and asks Danny, “How long do you think it would take to pack all this stuff up in boxes?”    
  
Danny blinks a few times, “I beg your pardon?”    
  
Steve bites his lip as he places himself in front of Danny, one hand brushing across Danny’s arm.    
  
“Move in with me?” Steve says, his eyes fixed on Danny’s.    
  
“Y-you…?” Danny stutters, and he needs to steady himself before going on, “You want me to move in with you?”    
  
“Yes,” Steve says with a deep breath, “You and Grace. Move in with me.”    
  
Danny’s still not entirely sure he has heard Steve correctly. But Steve is standing there in front of him, eyes still locked with his, and he’s not just looking anxious and petrified, he’s also looking so sure of himself.    
  
“I take it you’ve figured it out then?” Danny asks, and he feels those slivers of hope surfacing again, but this time he thinks he might not need to squash them down.    
  
It seems to take forever, though Danny’s pretty sure that’s only in his mind, and then Steve nods. A very distinct and confident nod, and Danny decides not to comment on the fact that Steve’s hands are shaking, because he realizes how much it took for Steve to come here and ask this.    
  
“I still don’t know how to…” Steve clears his throat, shaking his head a little, “I know that I want you with me. And that I want you to be happy. And I want to be happy, I don’t know if that’s…” He trails off.    
  
“That’s important too,” Danny says, because he doesn’t ever want Steve to think that his feelings shouldn’t be validated too.    
  
“So will you do it?” Steve asks.    
  
“I have, uhm… I have a lease that’s not up yet,” Danny says, “And maybe that’s not such a bad thing. You know, to have something to fall back on if…” Danny doesn’t finish, but he’s pretty sure that Steve gets the unspoken ‘if you change your mind’ or ‘if this doesn’t work out’. “But yeah… I’ll do it.”    
  
Then Steve’s gripping Danny’s hands in his and he says, “You won’t need it” and his eyes are telling a promise he can’t seem to express any other way yet.    
  
“I hope so,” Danny whispers and Steve’s fingers are almost crushing his but there’s not a thought in his head that considers pulling back. Because Steve is there, and Steve is following through, and Steve wants him in his life – all the way.    
  
“It will be different,” Steve says determined, “I will be better.”    
  
Danny chokes on his words and before he knows it he’s enveloped by strong, shaking – or is it Danny that’s shaking? – arms and his face finds that perfect fit in the crook of Steve’s neck and he just  _breathes_  and everything is Steve. His hands clutch at the back of Steve’s shirt and he knows that his knuckles are digging deep into Steve’s skin, but Steve lets him and clings back, he clings onto Danny like there’s no way back.    
  
Danny thinks he might be speaking, he’s muttering words into Steve’s skin and he’s not even sure what it is that he’s saying. He hears words like ‘Steve’ and ‘please’ and ‘babe’ and ‘don’t leave’ fall from his lips, and he thinks maybe he should be embarrassed by this but he can’t find it in him, and so he just lets himself melt into Steve because Steve is there, he isn’t going anywhere. He has his arms around Danny, his hands rubbing up and down Danny’s back, hushing soothing sounds into Danny’s ear.    
  
Danny pulls back just enough to kiss him, because he doesn’t know if he can go another second without feeling Steve’s lips on his. Turns out he doesn’t have to, because Steve is kissing him back with a ferocity that makes his knees buckle. But it’s okay, because Steve is holding him up.


	7. Something More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can Steve and Danny make it work?

“Steve,” Danny says and it’s somewhere between a groan and a chuckle, but Steve is not backing off, just simply grinding his hips down and how is that even fair?   
  
“Steve…” Danny tries again, but he tilts his head anyway – just right so Steve can continue to map the area from Danny’s jaw to his collarbone with his lips.    
  
“Anyone can just walk in,” Danny says, and he tries to shift a little but Steve’s body is effectively pinning him down on the couch and all it does is create more friction.    
  
“Don’t care,” Steve grins, grabbing the hem of Danny’s shirt and pulling it clear out of his pants, before slipping his hands over Danny’s back.    
  
“You will when it’s the Governor,” Danny says, but his hand finds its way to the nape of Steve’s neck as if to ensure he’s not going anywhere.    
  
“Not even when it’s the Governor,” Steve mumbles against Danny’s skin, then twists his hips down again and Danny can’t help but squirm and try to lift his hips off the couch to find more friction.    
  
“Kono and Chin…” Danny tries once more, and Steve lifts his head and looks him straight in the eye.    
  
“Are you really thinking of Kono and Chin right now?” he asks, “’cause if you are, I’m doing something wrong here…”    
  
“Nu-uh,” Danny quickly shakes his head, ‘cause there’s no way Steve is allowed to back out now, “No Kono and Chin. Just you.” He looks around briefly. “In your office. Which is made of glass.”    
  
“Very perceptive,” Steve says, but he can’t quite even out his voice, “You must be a Detective.”    
  
“Smartass,” Danny mutters before pulling Steve down and crushing their lips together.    
  
Steve immediately deepens the kiss, groaning into it. His hand slides over to Danny’s stomach, thumb kneading into the muscle before dropping down and flicking open Danny’s pants with one swift move.    
  
Danny wants to protest one last time, because while Kono and Chin are out getting lunch, there’s no way of telling how long they’ll be gone, or who else might drop by the office.    
  
But then Steve’s hand is inside Danny’s boxers and he’s wrapping those long fingers around him and Danny thinks he might come right there and then. Steve starts stroking, slowly at first, occasionally letting his fingers slide down and cup Danny’s balls. Danny breaks free from the kiss ‘cause he thinks he might need oxygen at some point, and Steve’s mouth latches onto his neck again and Danny doesn’t even care if it’s going to leave marks.    
  
“Steve…” he groans as Steve continues to stroke his achingly hard cock. Steve presses down his own confined erection against the Danny’s hip.    
  
Steve grunts and whispers Danny’s name against his skin, and Danny suddenly has trouble breathing. He wants to tell Steve he loves him, but bites down the words, even though it should be alright now – Steve knows it already, Steve wants him too, Steve promised it would be okay. But he doesn’t want to put Steve in a tight spot, he’s not sure Steve has figured out how to say it back yet, and Danny doesn’t like how selfish it sounds but… he’s not sure he can say it again without hearing it back.    
  
“You still with me, Danny?” Steve whispers and he locks eyes with Danny and the look just makes Danny’s insides melt.    
  
“Always,” Danny breathes,  _hard_ , and he holds Steve’s gaze because it seems that after everything they’ve been through, Steve finally learned that it’s okay to make eye-contact during sex. Hell, it almost drives Danny over the edge alone.    
  
“Always with you,” Danny says, and Steve  _smiles_  and says “yeah” and it’s almost as good as having him say ‘I love you’.    
  
Steve’s still rutting against him, and just as Danny tries to pry his hand between their bodies to give Steve some relief, there’s a stumble in the hallway and they hear Kono call out, “Jesus fucking Christ! Are you two for real?”    
  
Danny thinks his heart just jumped out of his chest. He strains his neck to see and yeah… there are Chin and Kono, standing in the hallway, only separated from them by the glass. Chin is shaking his head and ducking it, smiling. Kono is just standing in front of the window, looking right at them with arms spread and palms turned upwards, and says, “ _Seriously_ ?”    
  
Danny wants to dig a hole right here in the floor of Steve’s office and crawl in it and stay there. He’s mortified, frozen to the spot, just staring at Kono. Steve, however – who still has his hand down Danny’s pants, thankyouverymuch – starts shaking as he buries his face in the crook of Danny’s neck and, surely he’s not…    
  
“Are you  _laughing_ ?” Danny cries out indignant.    
  
Danny can feel the rumblings of Steve’s chest vibrate through him, and yes, Steve is laughing. He’s almost  _howling_ , is what he is.    
  
“You two are disgusting, you know!” Kono calls out from the hallway as she turns on her heels and joins Chin in the bullpen.    
  
The second Steve gets his laughter under control, he starts moving his hand again, even though the surprise of Chin and Kono barging in on them was enough for Danny to lose half his erection.    
  
“Are you insane?” Danny yells, trying to push Steve off him.    
  
Steve’s still grinning like an idiot when he looks up into Danny’s eyes.    
  
“We are not continuing this now, you  _animal_ !”    
  
Steve stills his hand on Danny’s cock and pouts, which forces Danny to roll his eyes and shove at Steve’s shoulder again, until he finally pulls back and leans back on the couch. He presses his palm to the front of his pants, and Danny can see him take a few steadying breaths.    
  
Danny scrambles to his feet quickly, stuffing his hand down his pants to rearrange himself into a somewhat comfortable position, all the while glaring at Steve.    
  
“What?” Steve asks, his eyes still dark with lust – slightly gleaming from laughing so hard – and his hair sticking out to all sides.    
  
“You were seriously going to continue jerking me off with Chin and Kono right there?” Danny asks, glancing over to the bullpen and feeling his cheeks flush as Kono shoot him a look with pursed lips.    
  
“I felt bad you didn’t get to come,” Steve shrugs innocently, and really, how is Danny supposed to resist  _that_ ?   
  
“You… how? I…” Danny stutters, “I don’t even have words right now!”    
  
Steve tries to pat his hair back into something that doesn’t say ‘I was just interrupted while having sex in my office with my partner’ and stalks towards the door.    
  
“That’d be a first,” Steve smirks and walks into the bullpen, not even looking the slightest bit apologetic when he faces Chin and Kono.    
  
“I hate you!” Danny calls out, stuffing his shirt back in his pants.    
  
“Not what it looked like,” Chin says as Danny joins them. And Chin hands Steve a little dispenser with disinfectant, which Steve – the smug bastard – takes gratefully and begins dry-washing his hands with.    
  
Danny groans as he folds his arms on the tech-table and drops his head onto it.    
  
“How is this my life?” he mutters.    
  
“I am so using this as leverage the next time I want something from you guys” Kono announces, “Just, seriously?”    
  
“It’s all his fault,” Danny groans, not bothering to lift his head as he speaks.    
  
“At least it wasn’t the Governor,” Steve says, and Danny snaps his head up and gives Steve a deadly glare.    
  
“How can you not be embarrassed at the fact that these two,” Danny waves over at Chin and Kono, “just caught us with your hand on my cock?!”   
  
“I think I’ll be washing my eyes out now,” Chin deadpans, and Kono’s just looking way too amused.    
  
“They helped you move in with me three days ago,” Steve states, “Did you think they didn’t realize we were also sleeping together?”    
  
“That’s so not the point!” Danny yells out.    
  
Steve smiles again, putting both hands to the side of Danny’s face.    
  
“Relax,” he says, dropping a quick kiss on Danny’s lips, “Geesh, you’re tense when you didn’t get your orgasm.”    
  
And Chin and Kono really shouldn’t burst out in laughter like that while Danny’s trying to find his sanity again.    
  
***   
  
“Uncle Steve!” Grace yells as she rushes up to him and swings her arms around his neck.    
  
“Can we go swimming?” she asks hopeful as Danny walks through the door as well, putting Grace’s bag down by the door.    
  
“You can’t get your cast wet, Monkey!” Danny reminds her.    
  
“Maybe we can wrap it up?” Steve looks at Danny, “Make sure it’s water-tight? It worked when I was in a cast.”    
  
“Yes, please Danno?” Grace asks.    
  
“God, I live with dolphins,” Danny groans as his way of giving his approval.    
  
“Seals, Danno,” Grace replies and Steve just stares at her with a proud smile on his face.    
  
“Seals, of course,” Danny says mock-exasperated, “How could I forget?”   
  
He holds out Grace’s bag for her and says, “Alright, go put on your bathing suit while Uncle Steve finds something to wrap up your cast with.”    
  
Grace hurries up the stairs, to her own – freshly painted – bedroom.    
  
“You’re going out there with her, right?” Danny asks, because he feels so much more comfortable when Grace doesn’t have to face the ocean alone.    
  
“Course,” Steve says, heading for the stairs as well.    
  
Two steps up he turns towards Danny and says, “Hey, come with me for a sec.”    
  
Danny frowns but follows Steve anyway.    
  
“We are not having s-e-x with my daughter in the next room,” Danny whispers as they get to the bedroom, but he stays in the doorway.    
  
“And here I was thinking I could ravish you the time it takes Grace to put on her bathing suit,” Steve deadpans, as he rummages through one of the drawers of his dresser.    
  
“You thought you could ravish me the time it takes Chin and Kono to go get lunch and look how that turned out,” Danny reminds him.    
  
“Quit complaining and come here,” Steve says, clearly found what he was looking for as he closes the drawer again, something clenched in his fist.    
  
“I know I haven’t been very easy,” Steve starts as Danny comes to stand in front of him. Danny opens his mouth but Steve cuts him off, “Haha, not what I meant.”    
  
Danny just grins, and Steve continues, “I mean, I haven’t made this,  _us_ , very easy on you.”    
  
“Babe, we’re past that,” Danny reassures him, a hand against Steve’s shoulder, “It’s all good now.”    
  
“I know,” Steve says, shuffling on his feet a bit, “I just want you to know that I’m trying and…”    
  
“I know,” Danny says, “Babe, I know. You don’t have to…”    
  
“Just…” Steve says, fixing Danny with a stare, “Let me say this, okay?”    
  
Danny nods, as if to give Steve the floor.    
  
“I know I almost messed it up, and I don’t want that to happen again,” Steve says, fidgeting with whatever it is he’s holding in his hands, “And I know there’s a lot of stuff you want me to say, and I’m trying not to look at it as an assignment…”   
  
Danny’s stomach twists at those words, and he can’t keep silent any longer. “No, God no. Steve, that’s not... Please, that’s not what I…”    
  
But Steve’s face is relaxed as he shakes his head and lays his hand to rest against Danny’s cheek.    
  
“I know, Danno. That’s what I’m trying to say. I… God, I’m so bad at this. Okay, uhm…” Steve brings up his hand and says, “Why don’t I just… show you?”    
  
He opens his hand and Danny is staring at the silver dog tags that Steve is holding up. The sunlight is catching on them as Steve tries to hold his hand steady but fails.    
  
“I uhm…” Steve mumbles, then holds them up by the chain, letting them dangle in front of Danny.    
  
“Me?” Danny asks surprised and then Steve is slipping the chain around Danny’s neck and tucks in the tags under his shirt, and Danny thinks he might have forgotten how to breathe.    
  
Steve’s knuckles brush against his collarbone and then he lets his fingertips trace the outline of the tags through the fabric of Danny’s shirt and it’s clear that Steve wants to say something, something to explain this gesture, but Danny is understanding it quite well. It means more than all the words Steve can put together because Danny knows,  _knows_  that Steve has never let anyone else wear these tags and he  _knows_  what it means, what Danny means to him.    
  
“Is this okay?” Steve finally asks, his fingers still lingering over Danny’s chest.    
  
“Oh  _babe_ ,” Danny says and he pulls Steve in, wraps his arms around him as tight as he can.    
  
He mutters all kinds of words against Steve’s shoulder as Steve squeezes his arms around him. ‘Yes’, and ‘Steve’, and ‘babe’, and ‘Yes,’ and there might be an ‘I love you so much’ in there, but Danny doesn’t care, he wants to say it. And then Steve’s mouth is on his, and Steve’s hand is in his hair and the other one of the small of his back, and there might be a tear escaping Danny’s eye but he doesn’t care, and Steve doesn’t seem to either.    
  
“Uncle Steeeeve, you were going to fix my cast.”    
  
There’s a high-pitched whine coming from the doorway and if it had been anyone other than his daughter, Danny would’ve just closed the door on them. But Grace’s standing there with a look that perfectly conveys ‘Are you done being gross yet?’, in her flowery pink bathing suit and her purple cast around her arm, and obviously Steve can’t deny her anything either, ‘cause he reluctantly breaks free from Danny’s embrace to grab some plastic and some tape from the cupboard.    
  
“Let’s get that cast water-proof, huh?” Steve smiles at Grace as he crouches down beside her and starts fiddling with the plastic.    
  
“Do you like kissing Danno, Uncle Steve?” she asks, her face scrunched up in contemplation.    
  
Danny can’t hide a chuckle, and Steve says, “I do, Gracie. Very much.”    
  
Grace nods, looking over from her father to Steve.    
  
“You should do it a lot then,” she finally says, in all her wisdom, and Danny thinks his heart might burst with love.    
  
Steve looks over at him, blinks a few times before smiling, “I think so too.” 


End file.
